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3. Caleb Serong<\/p>\n
Was a contested beast, and was second to none in the stat line come the main break. Had presence at centre bounce too, both tangibly and intangibly. Had a big second quarter, but was well-held to just three disposals in the third term. A fourth-quarter goal was the icing one the cake after two earlier goal assists. One of the Dockers\u2019 key cogs in the big moments, despite copping attention from Cats tough nut Oisin Mullin. 8<\/p>\n
5. Heath Chapman<\/p>\n
Floated between Cats early, and had a decent first half before things turned sour rapidly. His most common opponent Ollie Henry kicked the first of three third-quarter goals on him early, before Chapman gave away a critical tunnelling free kick that gave Henry his second. Similar to the first of the third term, Henry\u2019s next goal was also tough to defend one-on-one, but he was well-beaten in the premiership quarter. Did have a couple of massive moments in the last quarter to bring his score back up one. 4<\/p>\n
6. Jordan Clark<\/p>\n
Last Thursday night\u2019s shining light began his night much quieter, but still used the ball just as well. Stepped up with a better third term to show shades of his qualifying final, and was effective with ball in hand as per usual. 7<\/p>\n
8. Andrew Brayshaw<\/p>\n
Cats players couldn\u2019t keep the ball out of his hands at any point during the first 40 minutes, even if most of his early touches were handballs. His second half wasn\u2019t to the same standard of his big first half, but he still had a stellar night out. 7<\/p>\n
9. Luke Jackson<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old superstar may have played the greatest five minutes by an individual in the 2026 finals series. He was epic from the get-go and led the match with nine first-quarter disposals, just as many hitouts and two clearances \u2014 but his true impact came amid adversity on the cusp of three-quarter time. \u2018The Unicorn\u2019 kicked two goals in the last three minutes before the final break, and was only a boundary throw-in call away from a third. \u201cThat man right there … he\u2019s had a legendary five minutes!\u201d Melbourne great Garry Lyon said at three-quarter time on Fox Footy. Jackson was very, very close to clinching a perfect score, finishing with 25 disposals (15 contested), 12 score involvements, eight clearances and two goals. We don\u2019t give half marks, but this was absolutely a \u20189.5\/10\u2019 performance. What. A. Star. 9<\/p>\n
10. Shai Bolton<\/p>\n
Was absolutely white-hot in the opening minutes of the match, kicking the first two goals of the game to send Optus Stadium into delirium. His impact didn\u2019t stop there, but a couple of big missed kicks going inside 50 and a 50-metre infringement tanked his score a tad. Had clangers, but was monstrous early and took the game on. 7<\/p>\n
13. Luke Ryan<\/p>\n
Was accountable for Brad Close throughout the night, and did his job. Had less of the ball in his hands as the game went on. 5<\/p>\n
16. Murphy Reid<\/p>\n
Was in a number of crucial chains for Justin Longmuir\u2019s side, and alongside Andrew Brayshaw, led the match with six score involvements in the first half. Missed a shot on goal that could\u2019ve sealed the game, and burnt teammates in better positions in the process. Finished with two goal assists, but did have some scrappy moments either side of them. 6<\/p>\n
17. Judd McVee<\/p>\n
Came in as Brandon Walker\u2019s injury replacement, and had nine touches to the half. Didn\u2019t have the utmost impact with it, but was still busy enough in the second term. Was barely sighted after half time and dropped a mark that could have proven costly. 4<\/p>\n
18. Mason Cox<\/p>\n
Had his big moment in the 24th minute of the first term, marking a deep entry and converting truly before letting Jack Henry know all about it. Had a good second term, before going mostly unsighted after half time. 4<\/p>\n
Cox taunts Jack Henry after his opening major during the first quarter.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
20. Patrick Voss<\/p>\n
Was beside himself after Bolton\u2019s opening two goals, before slotting his own not long after in epic scenes Doubled down with a much tougher set shot 17 minutes later to leave his direct opponent Tom Stewart reeling. Missed a third-quarter set shot after a failed banana on goal. Another who was quiet after half time, but made the most of huge moments early before FITTINGLY kicking his fourth goal of the night and the match\u2019s final major inside the last minute. 8<\/p>\n
21. Oscar McDonald<\/p>\n
Intercepted well throughout the first half, and held his opponent Jay Polkinghorne to just three disposals in that time \u2014 though one of which was a goal assist. Took a handy intercept mark not long after the main break, before nearly paying the dearest of prices with a shocking kick that followed. All in all though, had his way with the Cats youngster. 6<\/p>\n
23. Karl Worner<\/p>\n
Won an outstanding four-on-one in the opening term as the minority, which helped turn the ball over and end with a Mason Cox goal. Was ultra-slick with ball in hand too. Finished with 18 disposals at 100% (!!) efficiency. Oh so underrated in the eastern states! 7<\/p>\n
24. Jye Amiss<\/p>\n
Got near the Sherrin early in a contested setting, but went into the opening break with just one touch. Out-muscled Jack Henry in a one-on-one marking contest before finishing his work close to goal. Finished with only four disposals, but boy oh boy did they count for something! 5<\/p>\n
25. Alex Pearce<\/p>\n
Had a contested mark taken on him early by direct opponent Shannon Neale, which luckily only resulted in a minor score from set shot. Made up for his error in the very next two contests, one of which saw him take an intercept mark deep in defensive 50. Did concede three goals, but Neale had little impact beyond his majors to probably draw even. 6<\/p>\n
26. Hayden Young<\/p>\n
Got his hands on the ball a lot early doors, and while his presence was undeniable, he did lack polish going inside forward 50. Kicked a spine-tingling goal from centre bounce after quarter time to leave the crowd screaming, and led the match for clearances at half time. \u201cHe was outstanding that second quarter,\u201d Melbourne great Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy. Finished with a dozen contested possessions and nine inside 50s. Reminded the competition just how important he is to Justin Longmuir\u2019s side. 7<\/p>\n
28. Neil Erasmus<\/p>\n
Was there or thereabouts in the opening half with eight disposals, and finished the night with 17 touches. Used it decently. 5<\/p>\n
32. Michael Frederick<\/p>\n
Snagged himself an early major running towards goal. Was quiet throughout the second and third term, but stood up big time with a great left-foot snap from a set shot to give Fremantle a four-goal lead in the final quarter. At the final siren, had six disposals at 100% efficiency. 6<\/p>\n
34. Corey Wagner<\/p>\n
One of Fremantle\u2019s two inclusions, Wagner butchered most of his disposals in the half, but did an okay job when manning Brad Close while Luke Ryan was off. Set up Jye Amiss with a crucial goal assist when Geelong got within four points in the third term. 6<\/p>\n
35. Josh Treacy<\/p>\n
Took a strong contested mark up the ground early, setting the tone after a very quiet qualifying final against Hawthorn. Found Isaiah Dudley with a chiselling, centring ball to start the second quarter. \u201cIt was brilliant,\u201d Melbourne great Garry Lyon said of his kick on Fox Footy. Took three contested marks and had six inside 50s from his 13 touches. 6<\/p>\n
Treacy celebrates his goal from range deep in the third term.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
39. Sam Switkowski<\/p>\n
Looked busy on a half-forward flank, and while not every touch was a winner to begin with, still played his role well as the middle man with four inside 50s to half time. Extends his 129-game AFL career by another week! 5<\/p>\n
43. Isaiah Dudley<\/p>\n
The last of the Dockers lads to register a disposal, but that was hardly an issue when it came in the 19th minute of the opening quarter for a behind. Converted his next opportunity at the start of the second from just inside the 50-metre arc. Just two disposals in the second half, but was electric through the second term. 5<\/p>\n
44. Matthew Johnson<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t have a huge amount of ball in the first half, but when he did, he didn\u2019t mess it up. Was gutsy in running back with the flight in the opening minute of the second half, and wore a Patrick Dangerfield knee to the torso as a result. Got busy in the final quarter when the game was on the line and finished at 93.3% efficiency. 5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Justin Longmuir\u2019s side was tested more than once in Friday night\u2019s 14-point win, but when the game was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":888387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-888386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}